Scope recommendation
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ColtPythonElite
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Used Leupold 3-9, 3.5-10, or 4-12.
Hugger-4641
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Burris Veracity 3-15x50.
Ks5shooter
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Leupiold vx-3 hd
horsemen61
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Get a Gold Ring I’ve never regretted it! And I doubt you will either
irishlad
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Nature Boy
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I second this recommendation
d2wing
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Leupold is my first choice as well for a hunting scope. They have never failed me on a hunt, including when I dropped my rifle from a stand. I checked it by bore sighting and it seemed ok so I resumed sitting in my stand. An hour later I shot a nice buck at a little over 200 yards.
Used meopta meopro, Cabela's instinct or zeiss conquest.... All basically the same scopes....new Meopta optikas
Leupy Vx-3i or 3HD, also good options....
Burris FF2, E1s and possibly the newer models tho i havent tried them....
Sigs Whiskey and Tango series.....
Athlon Argos, Heras, and Midas HMRs .......
Riton Primal 5s....
GPOs....
Pretty much anything will work and theres lotsa good options lol.....as a blanket "hunting scope, for 400 and in, decent conditions" id probably recommend a ff2/E1, Argos HMR/Heras, or Whiskey 3, followed by the Leupys just based on form factor and weight.
What features are you looking for, that will make a specific recommendation easier?
Leupy Vx-3i or 3HD, also good options....
Burris FF2, E1s and possibly the newer models tho i havent tried them....
Sigs Whiskey and Tango series.....
Athlon Argos, Heras, and Midas HMRs .......
Riton Primal 5s....
GPOs....
Pretty much anything will work and theres lotsa good options lol.....as a blanket "hunting scope, for 400 and in, decent conditions" id probably recommend a ff2/E1, Argos HMR/Heras, or Whiskey 3, followed by the Leupys just based on form factor and weight.
What features are you looking for, that will make a specific recommendation easier?
Basically not trying to break the bank. Don't need illuminated reticle or anything fancy like that. Adjustable turrets are a must so I can dial up depending on distance. In a nutshell looking for something reliable and at a good price.
In all my decades of hunting a variety of animals in different states but especially in Texas, I have never ever had the need to go beyond 7X power and I have a 3-9X40 scope on mine. Longest shot easily covers your distance. My advice would be to buy a scope with the best optics available in your price point without having to pay for magnification that you may never really use in a hunting scenario. Realize that higher magnification also magnifies atmospheric conditions which can be a bad thing.
W.E.G.
Member
The base is as important as the scope. Get the best one you can afford.
Ive got an hd3, and had a GPO 3x, both are excellent scopes, optically i couldn't tell a real difference.
I prefer the GPOs covered non-locking turret, but simply because I plink at distance with my rifles and the leupy only gives one turn up.
The leupy has a more forgiving eyebox and is lighter.
I havent had an Optika 5, only played with one for a bit and its a solid scope all the way around, tho heavy and not quite as good optically the Meopro HTRs Ive got.
Havent even seen Maven yet lol.
I prefer the GPOs covered non-locking turret, but simply because I plink at distance with my rifles and the leupy only gives one turn up.
The leupy has a more forgiving eyebox and is lighter.
I havent had an Optika 5, only played with one for a bit and its a solid scope all the way around, tho heavy and not quite as good optically the Meopro HTRs Ive got.
Havent even seen Maven yet lol.
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LiveLife
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Check out Athlon Argos BTR 10-40X56mm $459 (5% THR discount with THRFORUM code) - https://www.opticsplanet.com/athlon-optics-argos-btr-gen-ii-10-40x56mm-moa-rifle-scope.html
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redneck2
Member
For deer hunting I personally use Leupold with Firedot. The dot is easy to turn off/on, has auto off after 5 minutes if the scope isn’t moved. Ten brightness settings by simply pressing a built in switch
A VX-3 in 3-9 or 4-14 would be my choice. Dunno prices
A VX-3 in 3-9 or 4-14 would be my choice. Dunno prices
I have their 8X42 C1 binocular, and they are really nice. Very clear, and deal with glare extremely well. They handle glare much better than my 15X Meopta MeoStar binocs.
In the past couple years I've been buying Meopta and am really pleased with them. Built like tanks and glass is excellent. The real clincher for me is the variety of reticles that really suit my eyes. I am primarily a hunter. I recently bought a Tikka T3X Super Varmint .223 and am still experimenting with loads for prairie dogs and long distance coyotes. For that rifle I have a Meopta Optika6 3-18X56mm with Dichrotech reticle. If you've never looked thru a scope with the DichroTech, try to find one to view. They are remarkable.
That said, the down side for some (not me) is the weight. The one I list here weighs just under 2 lbs. If weight is an issue for you and you prefer light weight scopes, go with Leupold. I've had many Leupold scopes and still have 2. I've had trouble coughing up the high price of some Leupolds and not crazy about the reticles, so have not purchased a new one for the last few years.
Oh and BTW, the Meopta scopes listed above...Optika6 with Dichrotech run about $800, but sometime you can find the for a bit less. That's some more than our OP wants to spend. Good luck.
That said, the down side for some (not me) is the weight. The one I list here weighs just under 2 lbs. If weight is an issue for you and you prefer light weight scopes, go with Leupold. I've had many Leupold scopes and still have 2. I've had trouble coughing up the high price of some Leupolds and not crazy about the reticles, so have not purchased a new one for the last few years.
Oh and BTW, the Meopta scopes listed above...Optika6 with Dichrotech run about $800, but sometime you can find the for a bit less. That's some more than our OP wants to spend. Good luck.
Spend as much as you want to spend, but you won't find anything better under $600.
Amazon.com: BURRIS FullField II 3-9x40 Scope, Ballistic Plex Reticle, Matte Black (200162) : Everything Else
Under $160 for the scope and rings, only $130 for just the scope. These scopes MSRP at $200 and the rings around $40.
The old Zeiss Conquest which was made by Meopta is my favorite scope. Over the years Meopta sold that scope to a variety of vendors who put their name on it. Cabelas sold it for a while with their name on it. Originally, they sold for around $500, but I bought a couple of the Cabelas branded ones for $250 when they closed them out. They sometimes pop up at around $300. But that scope hasn't been available since Covid started and may never come back.
If you can locate one of those you'll have a great scope. But the Burris comes in a close 2nd place. Leupold is rarely a poor choice, but I'd rather have the Burris than a Leupold if they were the same price.
Amazon.com: BURRIS FullField II 3-9x40 Scope, Ballistic Plex Reticle, Matte Black (200162) : Everything Else
Under $160 for the scope and rings, only $130 for just the scope. These scopes MSRP at $200 and the rings around $40.
The old Zeiss Conquest which was made by Meopta is my favorite scope. Over the years Meopta sold that scope to a variety of vendors who put their name on it. Cabelas sold it for a while with their name on it. Originally, they sold for around $500, but I bought a couple of the Cabelas branded ones for $250 when they closed them out. They sometimes pop up at around $300. But that scope hasn't been available since Covid started and may never come back.
If you can locate one of those you'll have a great scope. But the Burris comes in a close 2nd place. Leupold is rarely a poor choice, but I'd rather have the Burris than a Leupold if they were the same price.
WrongHanded
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I have this exact scope mounted on my Tikka T3X in .30-06. It's the best glass I personally have ever used (though prior to this a Leupold Mark 4 2.5-10 X 42mm was the best, so take my opinion with a grain of salt).
https://www.trijicon.com/products/product-family/trijicon-huron-3-9x40-hunting-riflescope
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022102083
It's crisp and clear, and it just works.
https://www.trijicon.com/products/product-family/trijicon-huron-3-9x40-hunting-riflescope
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022102083
It's crisp and clear, and it just works.
LiveLife
Member
That was my sentiment before I had my cataract surgery as Burris FF E1 6.5-20x50mm provided comparable field of view brightness and sharpness compared to Leupold American Marksman 3-9x40mm (Reportedly around/slightly below VX2 in brighness/sharpness) and Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40mm/Dusk & Dawn 6-18x50mm, all 1" tube scopes and also compared to other scopes I did 75 yard indoor small print viewing at store including Nikon, Vortex, Bushnell, Leupold, etc.
BUT after my cataract surgery with Vivity IOL implants that allow 100% light transmission (Only multifocal IOL implants that transmit 100% where other IOL implants split percentage of light between near/far vision) and with 20/20 vision post surgery, when I did scope comparison with 30mm tube scopes from Viridian Serac 6-24x50mm, Vortex Crossfire II 6-24x50mm, Vortex Strike Eagle 4-24x50mm, Athlon BTR 10-40x56mm, Arken EP5 5-25x56mm (34mm tube), I couldn't believe how BRIGHT leupold 3-9x40mm with 1" tube that produced brighter field of view at 100 yards in bright sun reading small fonts on telephone transformer and 50 yards in dark shade reading small print on Coffee Mate container under the chicken house/150' redwood trees.
And sharpness of Leupold, even at 9x power of 40mm objective lens through 1" tube, was immediate while other 30mm tube scopes with 50/56mm objective lens at same/comparable 9x power, sharpness and brightness of even dark shade was not immediate and my eyes needed a bit of time to adjust.
So I have renewed my interest for Leupold scopes with report of brighter/sharper field of view from many THR members and I want to mention that if other members do not see much difference between Leupold and other brand scopes, it may not be the scope rather the condition/cloudiness/yellowing of eyes.
My cousin just bought some flavor t3x in 6.5 cm. Nice rifle. Very slick handling. He has a vx3 on top of it and I wasn't impressed, but scope preferences are very subjective. Still, my point is that I like to keep a slick handling rifle slick handling. To me that means avoiding overly big and heavy scopes with huge objectives that turn slick into bulky. To that end, I really like the vortex pst ii 2-10 by 32. It does really well out to 500.
I'll second this.
The trijicon Huron and ascent are very good options, and the Athlon Midas HMR 2.5-15x50 is quite good as well!
